Top prospect Michael Chavis wasn’t in the Opening Day plans for the defending World Series champion Red Sox. Alas, injuries and a sluggish offensive start forced the team’s hand into calling up the 23-year-old former first round pick, and it’s worked. Through 20 games entering Tuesday, the infielder is hitting .282 with six home runs, 19 RBIs and a .970 OPS. His five-RBI afternoon on Sunday gave him the third-most runs driven in through 20 games in team history, behind only Ted Williams and George Scott.
While he has a long way to go, Chavis is making an immediate impact in Boston. If he were to continue at this pace, he could threaten to join this list of the top rookie seasons in franchise history:
5) Dustin Pedroia, 2007:
After a lackluster .191 average in 31 games late in the 2006 season, Pedroia entered his first full season in the majors with few expectations. He wound up winning AL Rookie of the Year. The second baseman hit .317 with 39 doubles and scoring 86 runs in taking home the honors. Then in the postseason he hit .345 in the ALCS against Cleveland and .278 in the World Series against Colorado, hitting a leadoff home run in Game 1 en route to the Sox winning the title.
4) Nomar Garciaparra, 1997:
Bucking the trend that shortstops were light-hitting defenders, Nomar burst onto the scene in 1997 by unanimously winning AL Rookie of the Year honors. The 23-year-old batted .306 with 30 home runs, 98 RBIs (the most ever by a leadoff hitter) and 22 steals. He led the AL in hits, and his 30-game hit streak set an AL rookie record. In addition to his Rookie of the Year award, he added a Silver Slugger award, the first of six All-Star Game appearances and a top-10 finish in MVP voting to his resume.
3) Walt Dropo, 1950:
One of the great athletes in UConn history, the Moosup native signed with the Red Sox in 1947, choosing baseball over basketball (where he was drafted fourth in the BAA Draft) and football (where the Bears nabbed him in the ninth round). After a short stint in 1949, he had a magnificent rookie season in 1950, leading the league in RBIs (144), finishing second in home runs (34) and slugging (.583), and third in OPS, while hitting .322 for the season. On top of Rookie of the Year honors, Dropo went to his only All-Star Game and finished sixth in AL MVP voting.
2) Fred Lynn, 1975:
The vastly underrated Lynn takes the top spot, because he took home a lot more hardware than just a Rookie of the Year award. Hitting .331 with 21 home runs, Lynn led the American League in OPS, runs, doubles and slugging percentage, while playing Gold Glove defense in centerfield. For his efforts, Lynn became the first player to ever win Rookie of the Year and be named MVP in the same season, something only Ichiro in 2001 has done since. All the while, the Red Sox won the AL pennant, losing in the World Series in the classic seven-game series with the Reds.
1) Ted Williams, 1939:
Williams was spectacular from the moment he stepped onto the field. The 20-year-old began his storied career by hitting .327 with 31 homers, leading the league in RBIs (145) and finishing with an OPS of 1.045. He walked 107 times to only 64 strikeouts and tacked on 44 doubles. The Rookie of the Year award was not introduced until 1947, so Williams had to settle for a fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting, and he didn’t even garner an invitation to the All-Star Game!